Author Topic: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul  (Read 4228 times)

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Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« on: August 17, 2017, 03:50:31 PM »
JFK - IST - TLV on Turkish Airlines
Flight scheduled to leave JFK 11:40 pm. Got email (not from Turkish but from checkmytrip) that flight delayed to 11:55. Came to airport and checked in. Turkish is very particlar about weight but didn't care about size for luggage.
They also weigh all wheeled carry on (8 lb limit) but not knapsack. So I put am empty knapsack in a wheeled carry one. When it was time to weigh I took all the heavy things and put in knapsack. After they weighed the carry on and put an "accepted" tag on it, I put it all back in the carry on so didn't need to shlep a knapsack also.
Went to Air France Lounge using Priority Pass which is only open for Priority Pass in off hours which was fine for this flight. They only let Priority Pass users on the first floor. Lounge is nice but was very full with Priority Pass ppl. They have lots of not kosher fresh food, and Lay's chips, some fresh uncut apples, free alcohol (nothing fancy but Johnny Walker, Dewar, a few others, wine, lots of beer - Sam Adam's, Corona and more), cans of soda, and some fruit drinks, some kosher, free newspapers, and lots of charging outlets. There was also a shower and some ppl were getting towels from the front desk but I didn't check it out and not sure if available for Priority Pass.
Flight left 2 1/4 hrs late. Pleasant flight, they gave out packet with eye shades, foam slippers, socks, earplugs, toothbrush, toothpaste, and ear plugs. Seemed to be a wide selection of things to watch as well as games. They have the Quran translated audio book and also show which direction is Mecca and what time for all the (5?) prayers. (see pic) Which was interesting because it seemed unsurprisingly to match up in part with the davening times I got from myZmanim.com. There was also a camera view facing forward from the plane as well as down which was cool if you don't have a window seat. Seats were average size/comfort.
For those  still concerned even tho tons of ppl have not had issues , there were a few frum ppl on plane but not a lot. Lots of clearly identifiable Muslims although I didn't see any issues and I put on talis/tefillin in my seat. I wanted the guy sitting next to before I put it on, an he didn't care, Sai he's Muslim and will be praying soon too. I was thinking we should start a minyan and I've always been itching to try out one of those cool looking prayer mats...
We arrived in Istanbul too late for the connection to TLV. There was a flight shortly thereafter that had a few extra seats and some ppl who rushed were able to get boarding passes for that. I got lost and finally made it to where I needed to go, but too late. I'm terrible with directions but if you're in his situation it would be really helpful to know how to get to the proper place. It's called the Transfer Desk and there's a separate one for Turkish Airlines International flights. They kept saying it was by Gate 214 but that's only partly true. Near Gate 214 you have to find signs for transfer desk and then take the elevator down one flight and follow signs for transfer desk. The elevator is right by the Food Court area l. I went down the escalator instead (because the elevator is tucked away on he side) so if you see the escalator down to the Lounge (I don't remember which one but think it was Primeclass CIP) then it's immediately to your left before going down the escalator. Turkish has a customer service desk near Gate 218 but they said they only give out meal vouchers so wasted time even tho that's where I was first directed.
Tons of interestingly dressed ppl from all over that we don't see even in NY. I didn't feel uncomfortable but I tried at least a bit to not look obviously Jewish. The Lounges are nice but crowded. Have lots of outlets for charging but I forgot to  bring Israeli type outlet adapter.

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2017, 04:00:05 PM »
"Pleasant flight, they gave out packet with eye shades, foam slippers, socks, earplugs, toothbrush, toothpaste, and ear plugs"
Is that I'm coach?
I don't notice which cabin you were in from the post.. Sorry.
Flying Turkish on Sunday

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2017, 04:00:59 PM »
* is that in coach?

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2017, 04:10:04 PM »
Nice Flight Report!

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #4 on: August 17, 2017, 04:31:04 PM »
"Pleasant flight, they gave out packet with eye shades, foam slippers, socks, earplugs, toothbrush, toothpaste, and ear plugs"
Is that I'm coach?
I don't notice which cabin you were in from the post.. Sorry.
Flying Turkish on Sunday
yes
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2017, 05:48:09 PM »
JFK - IST - TLV on Turkish Airlines
Flight scheduled to leave JFK 11:40 pm. Got email (not from Turkish but from checkmytrip) that flight delayed to 11:55. Came to airport and checked in. Turkish is very particlar about weight but didn't care about size for luggage.
They also weigh all wheeled carry on (8 lb limit) but not knapsack. So I put am empty knapsack in a wheeled carry one. When it was time to weigh I took all the heavy things and put in knapsack. After they weighed the carry on and put an "accepted" tag on it, I put it all back in the carry on so didn't need to shlep a knapsack also.
Went to Air France Lounge using Priority Pass which is only open for Priority Pass in off hours which was fine for this flight. They only let Priority Pass users on the first floor. Lounge is nice but was very full with Priority Pass ppl. They have lots of not kosher fresh food, and Lay's chips, some fresh uncut apples, free alcohol (nothing fancy but Johnny Walker, Dewar, a few others, wine, lots of beer - Sam Adam's, Corona and more), cans of soda, and some fruit drinks, some kosher, free newspapers, and lots of charging outlets. There was also a shower and some ppl were getting towels from the front desk but I didn't check it out and not sure if available for Priority Pass.
Flight left 2 1/4 hrs late. Pleasant flight, they gave out packet with eye shades, foam slippers, socks, earplugs, toothbrush, toothpaste, and ear plugs. Seemed to be a wide selection of things to watch as well as games. They have the Quran translated audio book and also show which direction is Mecca and what time for all the (5?) prayers. (see pic) Which was interesting because it seemed unsurprisingly to match up in part with the davening times I got from myZmanim.com. There was also a camera view facing forward from the plane as well as down which was cool if you don't have a window seat. Seats were average size/comfort.
For those  still concerned even tho tons of ppl have not had issues , there were a few frum ppl on plane but not a lot. Lots of clearly identifiable Muslims although I didn't see any issues and I put on talis/tefillin in my seat. I wanted the guy sitting next to before I put it on, an he didn't care, Sai he's Muslim and will be praying soon too. I was thinking we should start a minyan and I've always been itching to try out one of those cool looking prayer mats...
We arrived in Istanbul too late for the connection to TLV. There was a flight shortly thereafter that had a few extra seats and some ppl who rushed were able to get boarding passes for that. I got lost and finally made it to where I needed to go, but too late. I'm terrible with directions but if you're in his situation it would be really helpful to know how to get to the proper place. It's called the Transfer Desk and there's a separate one for Turkish Airlines International flights. They kept saying it was by Gate 214 but that's only partly true. Near Gate 214 you have to find signs for transfer desk and then take the elevator down one flight and follow signs for transfer desk. The elevator is right by the Food Court area l. I went down the escalator instead (because the elevator is tucked away on he side) so if you see the escalator down to the Lounge (I don't remember which one but think it was Primeclass CIP) then it's immediately to your left before going down the escalator. Turkish has a customer service desk near Gate 218 but they said they only give out meal vouchers so wasted time even tho that's where I was first directed.
Tons of interestingly dressed ppl from all over that we don't see even in NY. I didn't feel uncomfortable but I tried at least a bit to not look obviously Jewish. The Lounges are nice but crowded. Have lots of outlets for charging but I forgot to  bring Israeli type outlet adapter.
How long was your stopover in Istanbul? (How long did you need to wait from when you landed till you got on the next flight?)
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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #6 on: August 17, 2017, 06:25:37 PM »
pictures look a little ( I dont know what word to use) not scary but the next level under that

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #7 on: August 17, 2017, 08:36:28 PM »
Coach. Stopover instead of 1.5hr was appx 6 all told cuz second flight was also delayed. As far as the pics I really as walking around a lot and shared the most different. Tons of more average looking ppl

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #8 on: August 17, 2017, 08:37:29 PM »
Nice Flight Report!
Thx.before I went I kept looking for detailed stuff and just heard that everyone was happy but not really detailed. Hope this fills a gap

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #9 on: August 17, 2017, 08:41:36 PM »
Also couldn't figure out how to label the pics when posted so here it is: first pic is HSBC lounge in Istanbul, 2nd and 3rd are in IST Airport, 4th is on flight JFK - IST, last 2 are Air France lounge in JFK

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #10 on: August 17, 2017, 10:29:48 PM »
JFK - IST - TLV on Turkish Airlines
Flight scheduled to leave JFK 11:40 pm. Got email (not from Turkish but from checkmytrip) that flight delayed to 11:55. Came to airport and checked in. Turkish is very particlar about weight but didn't care about size for luggage.
They also weigh all wheeled carry on (8 lb limit) but not knapsack. So I put am empty knapsack in a wheeled carry one. When it was time to weigh I took all the heavy things and put in knapsack. After they weighed the carry on and put an "accepted" tag on it, I put it all back in the carry on so didn't need to shlep a knapsack also.
Went to Air France Lounge using Priority Pass which is only open for Priority Pass in off hours which was fine for this flight. They only let Priority Pass users on the first floor. Lounge is nice but was very full with Priority Pass ppl. They have lots of not kosher fresh food, and Lay's chips, some fresh uncut apples, free alcohol (nothing fancy but Johnny Walker, Dewar, a few others, wine, lots of beer - Sam Adam's, Corona and more), cans of soda, and some fruit drinks, some kosher, free newspapers, and lots of charging outlets. There was also a shower and some ppl were getting towels from the front desk but I didn't check it out and not sure if available for Priority Pass.
Flight left 2 1/4 hrs late. Pleasant flight, they gave out packet with eye shades, foam slippers, socks, earplugs, toothbrush, toothpaste, and ear plugs. Seemed to be a wide selection of things to watch as well as games. They have the Quran translated audio book and also show which direction is Mecca and what time for all the (5?) prayers. (see pic) Which was interesting because it seemed unsurprisingly to match up in part with the davening times I got from myZmanim.com. There was also a camera view facing forward from the plane as well as down which was cool if you don't have a window seat. Seats were average size/comfort.
For those  still concerned even tho tons of ppl have not had issues , there were a few frum ppl on plane but not a lot. Lots of clearly identifiable Muslims although I didn't see any issues and I put on talis/tefillin in my seat. I wanted the guy sitting next to before I put it on, an he didn't care, Sai he's Muslim and will be praying soon too. I was thinking we should start a minyan and I've always been itching to try out one of those cool looking prayer mats...
We arrived in Istanbul too late for the connection to TLV. There was a flight shortly thereafter that had a few extra seats and some ppl who rushed were able to get boarding passes for that. I got lost and finally made it to where I needed to go, but too late. I'm terrible with directions but if you're in his situation it would be really helpful to know how to get to the proper place. It's called the Transfer Desk and there's a separate one for Turkish Airlines International flights. They kept saying it was by Gate 214 but that's only partly true. Near Gate 214 you have to find signs for transfer desk and then take the elevator down one flight and follow signs for transfer desk. The elevator is right by the Food Court area l. I went down the escalator instead (because the elevator is tucked away on he side) so if you see the escalator down to the Lounge (I don't remember which one but think it was Primeclass CIP) then it's immediately to your left before going down the escalator. Turkish has a customer service desk near Gate 218 but they said they only give out meal vouchers so wasted time even tho that's where I was first directed.
Tons of interestingly dressed ppl from all over that we don't see even in NY. I didn't feel uncomfortable but I tried at least a bit to not look obviously Jewish. The Lounges are nice but crowded. Have lots of outlets for charging but I forgot to  bring Israeli type outlet adapter.
"When it was time to weigh I took all the heavy things and put in knapsack. After they weighed the carry on and put an "accepted" tag on it.."

At what point do they weigh the carry-ons?

At regular luggage check-in or later by the gate?

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #11 on: August 18, 2017, 09:17:43 AM »
"When it was time to weigh I took all the heavy things and put in knapsack. After they weighed the carry on and put an "accepted" tag on it.."

At what point do they weigh the carry-ons?

At regular luggage check-in or later by the gate?
At regular luggage check

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #12 on: August 18, 2017, 11:37:24 AM »
"Pleasant flight, they gave out packet with eye shades, foam slippers, socks, earplugs, toothbrush, toothpaste, and ear plugs"
Is that I'm coach?
I don't notice which cabin you were in from the post.. Sorry.
Flying Turkish on Sunday
Sounds quite obvious from the fact that used Priority Pass. Business class would have given full lounge access.
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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #13 on: February 05, 2019, 11:23:58 PM »
JFK - IST - TLV on Turkish Airlines
Flight scheduled to leave JFK 11:40 pm. Got email (not from Turkish but from checkmytrip) that flight delayed to 11:55. Came to airport and checked in. Turkish is very particlar about weight but didn't care about size for luggage.
They also weigh all wheeled carry on (8 lb limit) but not knapsack. So I put am empty knapsack in a wheeled carry one. When it was time to weigh I took all the heavy things and put in knapsack. After they weighed the carry on and put an "accepted" tag on it, I put it all back in the carry on so didn't need to shlep a knapsack also.
Went to Air France Lounge using Priority Pass which is only open for Priority Pass in off hours which was fine for this flight. They only let Priority Pass users on the first floor. Lounge is nice but was very full with Priority Pass ppl. They have lots of not kosher fresh food, and Lay's chips, some fresh uncut apples, free alcohol (nothing fancy but Johnny Walker, Dewar, a few others, wine, lots of beer - Sam Adam's, Corona and more), cans of soda, and some fruit drinks, some kosher, free newspapers, and lots of charging outlets. There was also a shower and some ppl were getting towels from the front desk but I didn't check it out and not sure if available for Priority Pass.
Flight left 2 1/4 hrs late. Pleasant flight, they gave out packet with eye shades, foam slippers, socks, earplugs, toothbrush, toothpaste, and ear plugs. Seemed to be a wide selection of things to watch as well as games. They have the Quran translated audio book and also show which direction is Mecca and what time for all the (5?) prayers. (see pic) Which was interesting because it seemed unsurprisingly to match up in part with the davening times I got from myZmanim.com. There was also a camera view facing forward from the plane as well as down which was cool if you don't have a window seat. Seats were average size/comfort.
For those  still concerned even tho tons of ppl have not had issues , there were a few frum ppl on plane but not a lot. Lots of clearly identifiable Muslims although I didn't see any issues and I put on talis/tefillin in my seat. I wanted the guy sitting next to before I put it on, an he didn't care, Sai he's Muslim and will be praying soon too. I was thinking we should start a minyan and I've always been itching to try out one of those cool looking prayer mats...
We arrived in Istanbul too late for the connection to TLV. There was a flight shortly thereafter that had a few extra seats and some ppl who rushed were able to get boarding passes for that. I got lost and finally made it to where I needed to go, but too late. I'm terrible with directions but if you're in his situation it would be really helpful to know how to get to the proper place. It's called the Transfer Desk and there's a separate one for Turkish Airlines International flights. They kept saying it was by Gate 214 but that's only partly true. Near Gate 214 you have to find signs for transfer desk and then take the elevator down one flight and follow signs for transfer desk. The elevator is right by the Food Court area l. I went down the escalator instead (because the elevator is tucked away on he side) so if you see the escalator down to the Lounge (I don't remember which one but think it was Primeclass CIP) then it's immediately to your left before going down the escalator. Turkish has a customer service desk near Gate 218 but they said they only give out meal vouchers so wasted time even tho that's where I was first directed.
Tons of interestingly dressed ppl from all over that we don't see even in NY. I didn't feel uncomfortable but I tried at least a bit to not look obviously Jewish. The Lounges are nice but crowded. Have lots of outlets for charging but I forgot to  bring Israeli type outlet adapter.
People fly this route all the time, yet from the looks of these pics, I honestly feel like I would be uncomfortable (beside for my wife freaking out)

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #14 on: February 06, 2019, 12:27:00 AM »
There must have been some major religious event/pilgrimage somewhere. On the return flight it looked much more like a regular airport

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #15 on: February 06, 2019, 12:43:14 AM »
grodnoking,
outinstyle,
Luvisrael,
Don't quote such a long post!! Please.  You're cramping my scroll finger!

Do something like this:

JFK - IST - TLV on Turkish Airlines .......
.......
My favorite cause: cssy.org

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #16 on: February 06, 2019, 12:47:18 AM »
grodnoking,
outinstyle,
Luvisrael,
Don't quote such a long post!! Please.  You're cramping my scroll finger!

Do something like this:
u cud use sidebar and move with hand

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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #17 on: February 06, 2019, 01:10:28 AM »
People fly this route all the time, yet from the looks of these pics, I honestly feel like I would be uncomfortable (beside for my wife freaking out)
Definitely not normal. I've been there 4 times and it does not normally look that "religious "
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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #18 on: February 06, 2019, 02:39:58 AM »
There must have been some major religious event/pilgrimage somewhere. On the return flight it looked much more like a regular airport
Pilgrimage to Mecca?
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Re: Turkish Airlines with stopover in Istanbul
« Reply #19 on: February 06, 2019, 02:07:53 PM »
grodnoking,
outinstyle,
Luvisrael,
Don't quote such a long post!! Please.  You're cramping my scroll finger!

Do something like this:
yes it is very annoying